The Montgomery Bus Boycott
In the midst of the uproar over the Brown vs. Board of Education case, Rosa Parks made her decision to challenge segregation of public transportation. Outraged by Park's arrest, Jo Ann Robinson, head of a local organization called the Women's Political Council, called on African Americans to boycott Montgomery's buses on the day Rosa Parks appeared in court.
The boycott marked the start of a new era of the civil rights movement among African Americans. Instead of limiting the fight for their rights to court cases, African Americans in large numbers began organizing protests, defying laws that required segregation, and demanding they be treated as equal to whites.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a dramatic success. On the afternoon of Rosa Park's court appearance, several African American leaders formed the montgomery Improvement Association to run the boycott and to negotiate with city leaders for an end to segregation. they elected a 26-year-old pastor named Martin Luther King Jr., to lead them.
Black Power and Malcolm X
After 1965, many African Americans, especially urban youth people, began to turn away from King. Some leaders called for more aggressive forms of protest. their strategies ranged from armed self-defense to promoting the idea that the government should set aside a number of states where African Americans could live separate from whites. As African Americans became more assertive, some organizations, including CORE and SNCC, voted to expel all whites from leadership positions in their organizations. They believed that African Americans
alone should lead their struggle.
Black Power
Many young African americans called for black power, a term that had many meanings. A few interpreted black power to mean that physical self-defense and even violence were acceptable-- a clear rejection of Dr. King's philosophy. To most, including Stokely Carmichael, the leader of SNCC in 1966, the term meant that African Americans should control the social, political, and economic direction of their struggle.
By the early 1960's, a young man named Malcolm X had become a symbol of the black power movement. Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, he experienced a difficult childhood and adolesence. He drifted into a life of crime and, in 1946, was convicted of burglary and sent to prison for six years. Prison transformed Malcolm. He began to educate himself and played an active role in the prison debate society. Eventually, he joined the Nation of Islam, commonly known as the Black Muslims, who were led by Elijah Muhammad. Despite their name, the Black Muslims do not hold the same beliefs as mainstream Muslims. The Nation of Islam preached black nationalism.
Malcolm X
Shortly after joining the Nation of Islam, Malcolm Little changed his name to Malcolm X. The "X" symbolized the family name of his African ancestors who had been enslaved. He declared that his true name had been stolen from him by slavery, and he would no longer use the name white society had given him.
The Black Muslims viewed themselves as their own nation and attempted to make themselves as self-sufficient as possible. They ran their own businesses and schools, and published their own newspaper, Muhammad Speaks. They encouraged their members to respect eachother and to strengthen their families. Black Muslims did not advocate violence, but they did advocate self-defense. Malcolm X's criticisms of white society and the mainstream civil rights movement gained national attention for the Nation of Islam.
By 1964, Malcolm X had broken with the Black Muslims due to scandals involving the Nation of Muslims leader. After he broke with the Nation of Islam, he continued to criticize the organization. Because of this, organization members shot and killed him in February 1965. Although Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam before his death, his speeches and ideas from those years with the Black Muslims have influenced African Americans to take pride in their own culture and to believe in their ability to make their way in the world.
In the midst of the uproar over the Brown vs. Board of Education case, Rosa Parks made her decision to challenge segregation of public transportation. Outraged by Park's arrest, Jo Ann Robinson, head of a local organization called the Women's Political Council, called on African Americans to boycott Montgomery's buses on the day Rosa Parks appeared in court.
The boycott marked the start of a new era of the civil rights movement among African Americans. Instead of limiting the fight for their rights to court cases, African Americans in large numbers began organizing protests, defying laws that required segregation, and demanding they be treated as equal to whites.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a dramatic success. On the afternoon of Rosa Park's court appearance, several African American leaders formed the montgomery Improvement Association to run the boycott and to negotiate with city leaders for an end to segregation. they elected a 26-year-old pastor named Martin Luther King Jr., to lead them.
Black Power and Malcolm X
After 1965, many African Americans, especially urban youth people, began to turn away from King. Some leaders called for more aggressive forms of protest. their strategies ranged from armed self-defense to promoting the idea that the government should set aside a number of states where African Americans could live separate from whites. As African Americans became more assertive, some organizations, including CORE and SNCC, voted to expel all whites from leadership positions in their organizations. They believed that African Americans
alone should lead their struggle.
By the early 1960's, a young man named Malcolm X had become a symbol of the black power movement. Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, he experienced a difficult childhood and adolesence. He drifted into a life of crime and, in 1946, was convicted of burglary and sent to prison for six years. Prison transformed Malcolm. He began to educate himself and played an active role in the prison debate society. Eventually, he joined the Nation of Islam, commonly known as the Black Muslims, who were led by Elijah Muhammad. Despite their name, the Black Muslims do not hold the same beliefs as mainstream Muslims. The Nation of Islam preached black nationalism.
The Black Muslims viewed themselves as their own nation and attempted to make themselves as self-sufficient as possible. They ran their own businesses and schools, and published their own newspaper, Muhammad Speaks. They encouraged their members to respect eachother and to strengthen their families. Black Muslims did not advocate violence, but they did advocate self-defense. Malcolm X's criticisms of white society and the mainstream civil rights movement gained national attention for the Nation of Islam.
By 1964, Malcolm X had broken with the Black Muslims due to scandals involving the Nation of Muslims leader. After he broke with the Nation of Islam, he continued to criticize the organization. Because of this, organization members shot and killed him in February 1965. Although Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam before his death, his speeches and ideas from those years with the Black Muslims have influenced African Americans to take pride in their own culture and to believe in their ability to make their way in the world.
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